CARLISLE, Pa. – It was a wildly successful day for IUP swimming Saturday as the Crimson Hawks competed in the PSAC Invitational and the IUP Last Chance Meet at the Keystone Aquatic Center in Carlisle.
Six IUP swimmers combined for 14 NCAA Division II B standard times and five records – four school, one pool – in the program's final action before the national championships next month.
Sophomore
Paige Mikesell tallied four NCAA qualifying times between the two meets. Three of those she improved upon previous qualifying times, including the 100 butterfly (54.45), 200 butterfly (1:59.65) and the 200 freestyle (1:52.02). Her fourth was a new qualifier this season, the 100 freestyle (51.67).
Mikesell is coming off a season in which she earned first team All-American honors in the 100 and 200 fly, and was named honorable mention in the 200 free.
Senior
Claire Mikesell posted two NCAA qualifying times, setting a pair of school records and one pool record in the process. Mikesell broke the IUP and Keystone mark in the 200 yard breaststroke, swimming a time of 2:14.33. The time broke her own record she set two years ago while earning first team All-American honors with an eighth place finish at the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships (2:14.80).
Mikesell also set the school record and had a B standard time in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.50.
Freshman
Luke Mikesell also had a big day in the freestyle, posting three NCAA B standards to go along with two school records. Mikesell broke a pair of six-year old school records in the 200 free and 500 free, posting times of 1:36.28 and 4:27.60, respectively. His 100 free time of 45.26 nearly broke another record, as Mikesell touched the wall just .11 seconds off the time of 45.15 from 2005.
Junior
Rachel Johnson hit three NCAA B standard times, all her firsts of the season. She was right behind Claire in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, posting times of 1:02.50 and 2:17.88, respectively. Johnson was an All-American selection in the 100 breast as a sophomore in 2020.
Johnson added her third qualifying time in the 400 IM with a time of 4:29.58.
Senior transfer
Iliana Oikonomou hit her first NCAA B standard of the year with a time of 23.47 in the 50 yard freestyle. Sophomore
Amber Baldani also posted her first B standard with a time of 1:53.30 in the 200 yard freestyle.
The Crimson Hawks competed alongside four other schools from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), including Bloomsburg, Clarion, East Stroudsburg and Gannon.
NCAA Championship selections
According to the NCAA, the official national qualification list for the Division II championships, including alternates, will be available on www.NCAA.com and www.USAswimming.org/ncaa by 5 p.m. Eastern time, Saturday, March 6.
The 2021 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships are scheduled for March 17-20 in Birmingham, Alabama at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP men's and women's swimming programs, follow the Crimson Hawks on Twitter and Instagram @IUPswimming and online at IUPAthletics.com.
